Elements I Call Thee
by Water Angel
Summary: AU. They never escaped and now there are four new girls at Manticore. Girls with gifts that are unexplainable.


Title: Elements I call thee 

Author: Water Angel

Email: water_angel_amy@yahoo.com

Spoilers: Nothing it's AU

Rating: R

Disclaimers: You'll know what belongs to Fox and what belongs to me. 

Summary:  Four girls arrive to Manticore; they're different, with power over the elements.  The escape never happened and while at Manticore, they all make new friends, and a few enemies. 

**PART 1: New Arrivals**

"I can't believe you're doing this to me."  Zoë said to her father.  They were driving through the forest to a place called Manticore.  "I can't believe you're sending your own daughter to a place like this."

"It's for your own good."  He said quietly**.  **He sighed, "Zoë, you know that I love you, you're my daughter, but this place will be good for you.  These people will teach you how to control your gifts, then you'll be able to come back home."

"This is better for you, you mean."  Zoë said, but quietly so her father wouldn't hear her.  "You want me out of your way."

The huge gates of Manticore loomed before them.  Zoë shuddered; it was like looking into a prison.  It was all grey, black and white, the only colour coming from the trees behind the buildings.  This is not a place I want to be, Zoë thought to herself.  She knew she wouldn't be able to handle being locked up 24/7, she was used to going out where and when she wanted.  Rules were not something she followed.

They drove through the gates and the inside looked worse than out.  It was cold, Zoë noted, no heat could stay in there, like the desert at night.  There were many people walking around or doing some sort of training, they all looked like soldiers.  The boys had their hair cut short, no longer than the collars of their shirts, but the girls' varied in length, some as sort, or shorter than the boys, and some reaching their waist.

That was one thing Zoë was relieved about; she wouldn't have to cut her hair.  Her hair was something she prided herself upon; it fell just past her shoulders with layers framing her face.  But it was the colour Zoë liked the most, because in different light it could be blonde, brown or even a copper colour, and it was completely natural.  With her sapphire eyes and classic bone structure Zoë had no problems when it came to getting a date.

Zoë was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice when the car came to a stop or when her father opened the door.

"We're going to have to work on her attention span."  A rough voice said over to her left.  "We can't have people wondering around not paying attention, it's dangerous."

Zoë snapped her head around to face the man.  He had blonde hair and hard, cold eyes.  He wore an ID tag saying his name was Donald Lydecker.  "I have a great attention span."  Zoë gritted through her teeth.  "Wanna see?"

"Her attitude as well."  Lydecker said, then turned to Zoë's father.  "Mick, glad you could come as well, you know that we'll take good care of your daughter.  Why don't you come to my office and fill in some paperwork."  He placed his hand on Mick's back and led him through a door.

Zoë moved to follow them but was stopped by three fully armed men standing in front of her.  "I think I'll just stay here."  She said, folding her arms and leaning against the car.  She decided to look around her new home, to get a feel for the place.  But no matter how hard she tried, the place still looked like a prison.  This'll never be my home, she thought to herself.

She turned to the gates when she heard another car approaching.  It looked vaguely familiar, but for a second she couldn't remember whom it belonged to.  When a girl got out of the car, she new who it was.  "Paige?"  She called, ignoring the guards she ran to the girl she had known her whole life.  "What are you doing here?"

Paige made a face.  "My parents think I need control."  Her green eyes flashed angrily.  "I think I have enough control.  What about you?"

"Same thing," Zoë said.  The guards Zoë had run from earlier came running up and surrounded them again.

"Yay, guards."  Paige rolled her eyes.

One of the guards stepped forwards to say; "Mr and Mrs Connor, if you'll just follow me we'll take you to Col. Lydecker."  

"Thankyou," Mr Connor moved to follow the guard taking his wife with him.

Paige watched her parents leave and frowned.  "Why are they doing this?  I don't get it."

"Neither to I."  Zoë muttered.

"This is going to be a rule thing, isn't it?"  Paige said folding her arms.

Zoë nodded.  "We'll probably have bedtimes and everything."  She turned to face Paige, "How did your parents find out?"

Paige shook her head in disgust.  "My parents were joking around, having a water fight and my father threw all this water at me.  Well I stopped it and kind of threw it back at them.  They totally freaked and the next thing I know, we're on our way here.  What about you?"

"I was cold, dad was meant to be gone, so I lit a fire."  Zoë said.  "Without this things needed to light the fire.  Dad was behind me.  He wouldn't talk to me after that, just kind of looked at me in fear.  A few days later we get a phone call and dad tells me to pack my stuff, I was going to a place where people know how to deal with me."

Paige snorted.  "This is there way of not dealing, or not dealing as the case may be.  Instead of trying to understand us they ship us off to this place.  Do they think this is easy for us?"

"They're not thinking of us."  Zoë said, a far away look in her eyes.  "At least my father's not.  He just doesn't want a 'freak' for a daughter."

"We're not freaks," Paige said wrapping her arm around Zoë's shoulders.  "We're different, and that's not a bad thing.  It's actually good when you think about it.  I mean, how many times has it got us out f difficult situations?"

Zoë smiled at the memories.  "Heaps, but it doesn't look like it'll get us out of this one."

"Don't think that."  Paige grinned.  "Maybe we'll give these guys a run for their money.  Are we going to let them tell us what to do?"

Zoë grinned back.  "Hell no.  No one tells me what to do."

"I wouldn't fight them if I were you."  A voice said from behind them.

Paige and Zoë swung around to see two girls standing behind them.  Both were very pretty, one with blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes and the other with auburn hair and brown eyes.  "Why not?"  Zoë asked, looking around her.  "This place looks like its big on rules and I've never been one to follow them.

"Well I'd start if I were you.  Because you won't like the consequences."  The blonde one said.

"What kind of consequences?"  Paige asked a bit suspiciously.

"If you don't follow orders you'll find out."  The blonde said.

"Who are you anyway?  And why should we believe what you're saying.  For all we know, you've been sent here to try and scare us."  Zoë said narrowing her eyes.

"Don't think that."  The auburn one said.  "We're not here for that.  We're here for the same reasons you are.  I'm Sabrina and that's Kayla.  We've been here for a few weeks and we know what it's like."

"So what are we doing here?"  Paige asked.

Kayla shrugged.  "We don't know yet.  They've been waiting for you two and now that you're here they'll begin."

Begin what?  Zoë thought to herself.  But she knew that whatever it was couldn't be good, not by the looks on the faces of Sabrina and Kayla.  "So what are the people like around here?"  She said trying to change the subject.

Sabrina laughed a little.  "Some of them are okay-"

"And by some she means about a dozen."  Kayla interrupted.

"Hey I'm talking."  Sabrina said irritated.  "But she's right.  Most of the people here are hard, cold.  Especially the scientists and Lydecker."

"He's the guy talking to our parents now."  Paige commented.  

"Your parents put you here?"  Kayla asked a bit shocked.  

"Yeah why?  How did you get here?"  Zoë asked them.

"Not by choice." Sabrina said.

"I don't know how they knew about us or how they found us, but they got us while we were sleeping.  Not very sportsmen like of them."  Kayla said.

"Well none of these people strike me as being fair." Zoë stated looking around at all the security around them.  "This place is like a prison."

"It is," Kayla said but amended herself when she saw Zoë and Paige's faces.  "I just mean by all the locks to the outside world.  I don't mean a real prison."

"If you're trying to make them feel better it's not working."

"Shut up Sabrina," Kayla said good-naturedly.

Zoë was watching the door where her father had gone.  Just as she was wondering when he was coming out the door opened and her father, Paige's parents and Lydecker walked out.  Her father and Paige's parents didn't follow Lydecker as he walked over to them.  They just got into their cars and drove off.

Zoë looked away and saw Paige staring off in the direction her parents had gone.  Her face was a mask of pain and Zoë could almost hear her thoughts.  Paige was wondering why her parents hadn't come to say goodbye, she wanted answers and Zoë was going to get them.  She stalked over to Lydecker and got right in his face.  "What the hell is going on?  What was that?"  She flung her arm in the direction of the cars.

"I do not need to answer your questions."  Lydecker told her in a hard voice.  "And you will never speak to me in such a manner again.  You will address me as sir and will only speak when given permission."  He paced as he talked including Paige, Kayla and Sabrina in the discussion.  "You will stand at attention when around superior officers and follow the orders they give you.  From this moment onwards you do not have free will, all of your movements will be watched and monitored.  When told, you will go to the labs for tests-"

"What kind of tests?"  Zoë interrupted him.

He stopped his pacing and looked directly into Zoë's eyes.  "What did you say soldier?"

Zoë could almost feel the tension coming off Sabrina and Kayla.  "I asked what kind of tests will be done on us."

"Yes you did.  But did I give you permission to speak?"

"Why would I need permission to ask a question?"  Zoë demanded.

Lydecker looked at her for a minute then stepped up to her and said right to her face, "Because no one speaks without permission around here.  You better learn that rule or you're going to get yourself in a lot of trouble."  He motioned to two men behind him and they came forward, each grabbing one of Zoë's arms and dragging her away.

"What the hell are you doing?"  Zoë cried trying to fight the strong arms holding her.

"Zoë!"  Paige cried and tried to run to her but two men grabbed her as well and followed behind Zoë and Lydecker.

"What the hell is going on here?"  Zoë demanded as she was dragged through the halls of the buildings.  They passed many rooms that contained medical equipment and the occasional person.  They finally reached a room with a large steel table in the centre.  The men picked up Zoë and placed her on the table.  She was tied down at the arms and legs.  Zoë turned her head and saw Paige being put into a room opposite hers.  Sabrina and Kayla went by a few second later, but she didn't see what happened to them because someone shut the huge steel door.

"What are you going to do to me?"  Zoë asked pulling against the restraints.  

Lydecker answered her question.  "We're going to take some of your blood and run tests on your body."  

"Why?"

"Because we want to see what gives you your power to control fire.  It really is a fascinating thing."

"You won't find anything.  I've been to doctors before and they haven't found anything."

"But they do not have the type of equipment that we have."  One of the doctors said preparing her to take a blood sample.  Zoë could only see his eyes because a surgical mask covered the rest of his face.  

Zoë tensed even more, pulling harder on the restraints, another doctor was pacing things on her head and chest.  To monitor my brain, a rational part of Zoë said.  She really didn't like needles, and she used all of her strength pulling on the restraints.  When she saw that wasn't going to work, she relaxed and calmed her breathing.

"Good," the doctor said.  "If you fight it it'll just hurt more."  He wiped sweat from his forehead.  "Did somebody turn to heat up?"

"No," everyone else said.  But another technician looking at the monitors said; "Subjects body temperature is rising."

Subject, Zoë thought, I'm just a subject.  She focused on her power, making the heat surround her and raise her temperature.

"What is her temperature?"  Lydecker demanded of the technician, coming to stand beside him.   

"99*F sir, and rising.  100, 101, 102, if it gets any higher it could be dangerous."

"Well fix the situation."  Lydecker said turning to the doctor.

"Already doing that sir."  The doctor said filling a needle with a yellowish liquid and injecting it into Zoë's arm.  Her body relaxed even more and her eyes closed.

"Temperature dropping," the lab tech said.  "101, 100, 99, 98, 98.6.  Normal temperature achieved."

"What the hell did she do?"  Lydecker demanded.  "And how did you stop it?"

"I injected her with a relaxant, enough to make her loose consciousness.  As to what she did, it appears she is able to raise her body temperature, making herself and her surroundings hot.  I don't know what she tried to achieve by it."

"Make sure it doesn't happen again."  Lydecker said walking to the door.  "I'm checking on the others.  Do you have the situation under control?"

"Yes sir we do.  If we find anything we'll call you immediately."  The doctor said.

"Make sure you do," Lydecker said walking out the door.

*          *            *            *            *          

"It looks like Lydecker has some new playthings."  Zack said as he walked away from the window he was looking out of.  He went and sat by his brothers and sisters, brushing his blonde hair off his face, and a troubled look in his blue eyes.

"What do you mean?"  Max asked, playing with the food on her plate.  She scrunched her nose at the look of it, it didn't really look edible. 

"Remember those girls that arrived a few weeks ago?"  Zack asked, continuing on when Max and the other nodded.  "Well two more just arrived and they were all just dragged off to the labs.

Max winced, her brown eyes compassionated.  "Poor things."  Max knew more than anyone what the labs were like.  She got taken there on more than anyone.  None of the knew why, but there was nothing they could do to stop it.

"Why would they be testing on civilians?"  Brin asked.  "They've never brought in civvie's before."

"Maybe they're using them for breeding purposes."  Alec pondered, looking out the window, to the barren land outside.

Ben elbowed his twin in the stomach.  "They never bring in people who are unwilling.  The girls who have been here aren't willing.  Just look at the way they've been walking around this place."

"It was just a thought."  Alec said glaring at his brother and rubbing his sore ribs.  Ben just glared back.  It was actually a funny thing to watch those to glaring at eachother, because they were identical twins, it was like glaring at yourself.  Both and brown hair, cut at the same length and blue eyes.

"Both of you shut up."  Tinga said.  "It shouldn't matter to us why they're here.  It's none of our concern."

"I know we shouldn't, but we do."  Max said.  "I'll find out why they're here."

"No you won't."  Zack told her.  "It is none of our concern, so keep out of it Max."

"Don't worry Zack.  I was going to wait until tonight to find out.  Who wants to come?"

"I'll go," Jondy said.  She and Max grinned at eachother; they were always doing something they weren't supposed to after hours.

"Me too," Brin said.

"Count me in," added Ben.

"Anybody else?"  Max asked looking at the others.  She turned to Zack.  "Come on, you know you want to."

Zack sighed.  "Alright, but not because you want me to.  I'm going to keep you out of trouble."

"Sure you are," Max said smiling, flipping her dark brown hair out of her eyes.  "Admit it, you're just as curious as the rest of us.  You know you want to know what their deal is."

Before Zack could say anything, one of the soldiers came into the room.  "X5's!  Back to training."

They all got up grudgingly and went back to their training.


End file.
